


Stay, don’t leave

by HolmesApothecary



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, like 1.7 seconds of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolmesApothecary/pseuds/HolmesApothecary
Summary: David Rose grows up.





	Stay, don’t leave

**Author's Note:**

> I had already started this but Dan's comments in recent articles about Moira having to make a choice in Season 6 really struck a cord and the rest of this little snippet of fic fell into place. 
> 
> This isn't really songfic but I will say that Noah Reid's ["Apollo"](https://open.spotify.com/album/4xPWdN4UlyUGudMffzW9zY) was playing over and over while I wrote it and there are definitely themes from that song included (as well as the title). If you haven't listened to Noah's album "Songs from a Broken Chair" yet, run don't walk to your nearest music streaming service to do so.

The air had the crisp bite of fall to it. It felt like being cocooned in a cozy throw blanket and serenaded by a strummed guitar on the couch in front of a fire. The last time he’d been in Toronto was in bright, early summer when he and Patrick had come up for a baseball game. David had learned to tolerate the game if it meant getting to see Patrick’s look of excitement and his pink cheeks from a little too much sun. But now, this hazier autumn light made him long for bonfires and s’mores and Patrick wrapped up in David’s favorite black cardigan in the backyard of their rented house, far away from this city and his current situation.   
  
“David? David, are you listening?”  
  
He came back to himself, looking away from the window and into the nondescript corporate office. His parents and the lawyer looked on expectantly.  
  
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”  
  
Moira sighed dramatically and a bit put on. “Really, David! You have the attention span of a southern pig-tailed macaque.”  
  
“Mr. Haines asked if the paperwork was done to our liking,” supplied Johnny. “If you had any questions?”  
  
“Oh. Um, no.”  
  
The lawyer looked ready for this to be over. “Great. Let me just delve into a little more into the terms…”  
  
“I’m sorry, Mr. Haines,” David interrupted. “That won’t be necessary.”  
  
“David!”  
  
“No, thank you for your time, but the town is not for sale. I’m sorry to keep you so long.”  
  
His dad's eyebrows shot up above his glasses, but he didn’t look all that shocked by David’s words. David knew who was behind all of this, who his father was trying to appease.  
  
Looking to Moira, she was equal parts angry and histrionic—throwing her hands in the air, ready to battle. However, David knew underneath all the bravado was a streak of desperation—she had thought this was her chance. He couldn’t help feeling a pang of sadness for her.  
  
“David, you have no right to…”  
  
“Actually, I do. I do have the right. I own the town. It’s in my name.” David took a deep breath, trying not to get angry. He knew this was hard, and he wasn’t trying to be cruel on purpose.  
  
“It’s my home. It’s the one place that has ever accepted me for me and not for our money. The only place that gave me a real chance. The place that gave me Patrick, and where you and I and Dad and Alexis actually became a family—where we became real. I won’t sell my family, Mom. I’m sorry, but I won’t.  
  
“Alexis…”  
  
“Alexis agrees with me. I spoke with her about it again this morning. She said she’d call you tonight, but she’s not changing her mind.”  
  
He watched as his mother deflated—the dramatic air suddenly absent.  
  
“So, you’ve decided to plunge the blade right into my back once more? To desert your own mother for that fetid hamlet.”  
  
David moved his chair closer. Tried to reach out but she pulled away—looked away.  
  
“I love you, Mom. I do. We all should have said it more. And I’m sorry you’re not there yet—that you don’t see that losing the money was the best thing to ever happen to us. But I won’t sell the only place that has ever felt like home to me and Alexis.”  
  
David stood and left the room with a glance at his dad. Johnny gave him a steady look—a proud look. Proud of the man he’d raised, even if it had taken him until his son was 32 years-old to attempt to do so.  
  
Leaving the bland office building for the colorful tree-lined street, David couldn’t wait to get home.  
  
***

Patrick had let him know that he was still at the store when he texted to say he was on his way home. David being gone for the meeting had left Patrick some extra time for inventory, and he was almost finished up when David stepped into Rose Apothecary.  
  
Taking maybe the least constricted breath he’d ever taken, David looked around the store he loved so much—all dressed up for fall. Maybe they could have hot cider tonight. Oh, maybe that could be something to source for the store—fresh cider, autumnal color plaid scarves, artisanal caramel apples. The ideas were endless. The years ahead were endless—and they were his for the taking.

Patrick came around the counter to gather him up into his arms, smoothing a hand up and down David’s back.  
  
“How did it go?”  
  
“Exactly how we expected.”  
  
“So, a nightmare?”  
  
“Beyond that, Patrick. I broke her heart.”  
  
Patrick sighed and tightened his arms, hands resting on the back of David’s neck. “She’ll come around. When she understands that all of you want to stay. She’ll accept it eventually.”  
  
“I’m not so sure...but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel like the weight of all that isn’t gone. Like, I feel I can finally move forward with the rest of our life—finally be done with the past.”  
  
“I’m glad.”  
  
David leaned his head on Patrick’s shoulder, suddenly ready for PJs and a fire and the wool blanket at the end of their couch.  
  
“Take me home?” Patrick asked as he turned his head to peck a kiss below David’s ear.  
  
“Already there.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: the southern pig-tailed macaque really does have one of the shortest attention spans of mammals. Moira knows her stuff.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [HolmesApothecary](https://holmesapothecary.tumblr.com/).


End file.
